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New-vehicle sales could rise by as much as six to seven percent during 2012 according to Automotive News, due largely to the one-two punch of a stabilizing economy and pent-up consumer demand. Here’s why we think you should join the crowd and head down to your local new-car dealership in the coming months to kick the tires.

1. Low Interest Rates

Those looking to finance a new-car purchase should continue to enjoy record-low rates over the coming year. That’s because the Federal Open Market Committee recently reiterated it would keep the federal funds rate between 0 and 0.25 percent and would likely to remain at those rates until at least mid-2013. That translates into affordable credit across the board.

According to Bank Rate Monitor, as of January 2, the average rate for a 60-month new-car loan in Chicago was 4.9 percent, with the lowest posted rate at just 3.25 percent. What’s more, many automakers continue to offer cut-rate loans as low as zero percent for up to 72 months on select models, though these don’t usually include the most in-demand cars and they’re typically restricted to borrowers having pristine credit ratings.

Fortunately more buyers should be able to qualify for the lowest new-car financing rates during 2012 than in recent years. According to Experian Automotive, with borrowers doing a better job of paying their loans on time and avoiding default, and most of the riskier loans written from 2007 and 2008 now being off the books, financing companies are loosening their credit standards. Experian data shows that new-car financing to consumers with less than prime credit ratings jumped by 12.5 percent from 2010 to 2011. “With more financing being booked outside of prime, lenders are showing they are willing to be more flexible,” says Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive.

2. High Trade-In Values

Used-car prices should remain at all time highs during 2012, which in turn means equally steep trade-in values that can be used as more substantial down payments on new models. Due largely because of a shortage of used cars, the average value of a one- to three-year-old vehicle increased from $15,000 in 2008 to more than $23,000 in 2011, according to Kelley Blue Book, which amounts to an average boost of nearly 16 percent per year. KBB predicts used-car values may further increase from four to six percent during 2012.

While exact figures weren’t available, Alec Gutierrez, Manager of Vehicle Valuation for KBB.com suggests the nation’s used-car inventory has contracted by as much as 25 percent since 2009. This results from depressed new-car sales and a rollback in leasing that followed the economic collapse in late 2008, along with automakers dialing down their sales to rental-car fleets, all of which diminished the number of used models returning to dealers’ lots. In addition, 677,000 used cars – albeit older and less-desirable models – were taken out of the market by the so-called “cash for clunkers” program in 2009.

3. Generous Leasing Deals

Bargain-hunting consumers have been able to take advantage of some truly unbeatable leasing deals in recent months, thanks to an ideal combination of market forces. “High resale values and low interest rates are contributing to some of the most attractive lease deals we’ve seen in years,” says Jesse Toprak, Vice-President of Industry Trends for the online valuation/car-buying service TrueCar.com. That’s because lease payments are largely based on a vehicle’s transaction price, minus its projected resale value at the end of the lease term (also called the residual value) over a given term, financed at the going interest rate. According to data provided by Automotive Lease Guide, the average new vehicle’s residual value after three years has risen from 42.7 percent of its original transaction price in 2009 to 49.3 percent in 2011.

Analysts say leasing deals should remain attractive throughout 2012 and well into 2013 as interest rates continue to be low and used-car inventories remain slim. By 2014, a sufficient number of off-lease models and trade-ins should be coming back to dealers in sufficient numbers to repopulate used-car inventories. A greater supply of used cars in the marketplace should bring down resale and residual values, which will, in turn, boost the cost of leasing a new model.